Labeed Ahmad, Jamia Ahmadiyya UK
Much of Sufism revolves around the abstract and the non-tangible. These ideas are translated into Sufi poetry and prose. Amongst them, perhaps one of the most globally celebrated poems is Faridud-Din ‘Attar’srh allegorical tale The Conference of the Birds from 1177 CE, which consists of 4,500 verses.
‘Mantiq at-tayr’ – The Conference of the Birds and the Quran
The title of the poem is often translated as The Conference of the Birds; however, the original name is منطق الطير, i.e., the language of the birds, and is derived from the following verse of the Holy Quran:
وَوَرِثَ سُلَيۡمٰنُ دَاوٗدَ وَقَالَ يٰۤاَيُّہَا النَّاسُ عُلِّمۡنَا مَنۡطِقَ الطَّيۡرِ وَاُوۡتِيۡنَا مِنۡ کُلِّ شَيۡءٍؕ اِنَّ ہٰذَا لَہُوَ الۡفَضۡلُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
“And Solomon was heir to David. And he said, ‘O ye people, we have been taught the language of the birds; and we have had everything bestowed upon. This indeed is [God’s] manifest grace.’” (Surah an-Naml, Ch. 27: V.17)
A summary of the poem
A congregation of birds from all around the world becomes the backdrop to set the scene for the events that occur throughout the narrative of the poem. All the birds gather to discuss who amongst them should be crowned as their king. Among the muttering, the hoopoe becomes a voice of reason. He reminds the birds that a being exists far greater than them: the Simorgh.
The hoopoe leads the birds, each of whom represents a human fault which prevents humanity from attaining the Divine.
The hoopoe tells the birds they must cross seven valleys to reach the abode of the Simorgh. These seven valleys each represent a different attribute that man must acquire to achieve a greater connection with the Divine and cognisance of the Greater Being. The seven valleys are: quest, love, knowledge, detachment, unity, wonderment and annihilation.
Sholeh Wolpé, an Iranian American poet, writes:
“When the birds hear the description of these valleys, they bow their heads in distress; some even die of fright right then and there. But despite their trepidations, they begin the great journey. On the way, many perish of thirst, heat or illness, while others fall prey to wild beasts, panic, and violence. Finally, only thirty birds make it to the abode of Simorgh.” (The Conference of the Birds, translated by Sholeh Wolpe, W. W. Norton, 2017)
Yet, after such a strenuous journey, they come to the ultimate anti-climax. There was no Simorgh.
The legend that was – wasn’t.
It is only then, that the realisation seeps in; Simorgh is just a play on words.
Si morgh is Persian for “thirty birds”.
“If Simorgh unveils its face to you, you will find
“that all the birds, be they thirty or forty or more,
“are but the shadows cast by that unveiling.
“What shadow is ever separated from its maker?
“Do you see?
“The shadow and its maker are one and the same,
“so get over surfaces and delve into mysteries.” (Ibid.)
Like many members of various Sufi orders, ‘Attarrh promotes the idea of finding God within oneself. The Promised Messiahas writes in one of his letters:
“In some books, the saying, ‘Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord,’ (man ‘arafa nafsahu fa-qad ‘arfa rabbahu) has been presented as a Prophetic hadith. In Ihya ‘ulum ad-din [by al-Ghazali], there are many such ahadith about which hadith scholars have raised objections or doubts based on their established principles. However, there is nothing in this saying that contradicts the words of Allah and His Messengersa. Allah the Exalted says: “And [also] in your own selves. Will you not then see?” (Surah adh-Dhariyat, Ch.51: V.22) The Lord of the Worlds created the entire universe for the purpose of being recognised. The human self is a comprehensive compendium of all the secrets of the universe. And there is no doubt that whoever truly acquires the knowledge of the self will attain the knowledge that can be obtained by understanding the reality of the entire universe. Thus, this is the closest and easiest path: that one should strive to know their own self.” (Maktubat-e Ahmad, Urdu [2008], Vol. 1, p. 574)
The idea of finding God through introspection can be easily, and mistakenly, conflated with the concept of Wahdat al-wujud, i.e., the idea that there is no true existence except the Ultimate Truth (i.e., God) and that the universe is finite to one being, which is God. And that all that one sees and all that one is – is God. Perhaps a refraction of God’s light, but in itself, God. (“Wahdatul wujud and its influence toward concept of Islamic tawhid according to Ibn Arabi”, wahdatulwajud.blogspot.com)
Though some Sufis will argue that the idea of Wahdat al-wujud is not shirk (associating partners with God), one must always fear the narrow paths of religion and the threat of committing shirk.
Wahdat al-wujud, Wahdat ash-shuhud and the Promised Messiahas
The Conference of the Birds can be read in a variety of ways and touches on a number of concepts; however, it is interesting to read it in light of the teachings of the Promised Messiahas.
The Promised Messiahas makes it clear that he does not conform to the wujudi school of thought. Once, he criticised their views during a discourse, and then stated:
“I am no enemy of the wujudis. On the contrary, I consider them to be worthy of pity.” (“The Purpose of Religion”, www.alislam.org; Malfuzat, Urdu, 2022, pp. 224-227)
Thus, reading the poem in light of the teachings of the Promised Messiahas offers a new perspective on finding God.
Contrary to the concept of Wahdat al-wujud, there is the idea of Wahdat ash-shuhud – which is the supremacy of love. In this perspective, one is so engulfed by God’s love that they appear transformed by its intensity. Nevertheless, it is paramount to acknowledge that God remains God, and the human remains human, with no alteration of their fundamental essences. The Promised Messiahas illustrates this distinction with an analogy:
“Just as a piece of iron thrown in the fire becomes red hot and if someone were to call it ‘fire’ in its red-hot state, he may be excused because it was totally covered by fire.” (Ibid.)
Such allegories are very common in the Promised Messiah’sas writings and we should continue to analyse and consider the meanings they suggest to us. If we were to consider this allegory alongside the one in Conference of the Birds, it reveals a timeless message: surrendering to the love of God and dissolving the self in pursuit of His way. By this way of reading, the birds find the Higher Being through introspection which is aligned with our belief in self-reformation and also the connection between the individual and God.
The Promised Messiah’sas aforementioned idea can also be related to the Quranic terms ‘ayn al-yaqin, ‘ilm al-yaqin and haqq al-yaqin. Drawing on a well-known Sufi analogy, he explains these terms as follows:
‘Ayn al-yaqin: certainty of inference; one sees smoke and infers the existence of fire,
‘Ilm al-yaqin: certainty of sight; one sees fire and thus realises its existence by way of sight,
Haqq al-yaqin: certainty of experience; one enters into fire and realises its existence by way of experience. (The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam, p. 182)
Stages of knowledge in The Conference of the Birds
Interestingly, Faridud-Din ‘Attarrh illustrates a similar idea of belief and submission in the following section of his epic. He narrates a story of moths gathering one night to discern the truth about candlelight. The following verses show the importance of themes of belief amongst Sufi poets throughout the ages. Take the following verses for example:
Moths gathered in a fluttering throng one night
To learn the truth about the candle light,
[…]
One flew till in the distance he discerned
A palace window where a candle burned —
[…]
The mentor of the moths dismissed his claim,
Remarking: “He knows nothing of the flame. (The Conference of the Birds, Ibid.)
‘Attarrh employs the motif of moths as a symbolic element denoting man and knowledge. This clearly resonates with the understanding of ‘ayn al-yaqin that, among others, also the Promised Messiahas mentions. The moths see the candle but the mentor amongst them knows that seeing is simply not enough.
In the same allegory, ‘Attarrh seems to use a similar motif to explain the concepts of ‘ilm al-yaqin and haqq al-yaqin. He writes:
A moth more eager than the one before
Set out and passed beyond the palace door.
He hovered in the aura of the fire,
A trembling blur of timorous desire,
[…]
The mentor said: “You do not bear the signs
Of one who’s fathomed how the candle shines. (Ibid.)
In this instance, the moths enter a new realm of knowledge, that is to feel the aura and the warmth of the fire. There is no doubt that this realm offers a new understanding to the candle that was not discerned before – howeve, there is still a gap in understanding the complete truth about this mesmerising light. Exiting the realm of ‘ilm al-yaqin and discovering the complete and undoubtful truth requires one to enter the realms of haqq al-yaqin. ‘Attarrh states:
Another moth flew out – his dizzy flight
Turned to an ardent wooing of the light;
[…]
The flame engulfed his wing-tips, body, head,
His being glowed a fierce translucent red;
And when the mentor saw that sudden blaze,
The moth’s form lost within the glowing rays,
He said: “He knows, he knows the truth we seek,
That hidden truth of which we cannot speak.”
To go beyond all knowledge is to find
That comprehension which eludes the mind (Ibid.)
These verses describe how the moth, representing the Sufi seeker, is consumed by a flame until it glows a fierce red. The mentor observes the moth losing its form within the radiant light. This symbolises the Sufi’s journey of mystical self-annihilation (fana’), where they surrender their identity to be lost in the divine, akin to the moth becoming one with the flame.
Another point worthy of mentioning is how ‘Attarrh depicts fana’ in this section of the poem. As it has been stated, haqq al-yaqin is achieved by engulfing oneself in fire. The Promised Messiahas in ‘A’ina-e Kamalat-e Islam expounds upon the word zulm. Though in most theories of the word’s meaning, it would hold connotations of cruelty, the Promised Messiahas presents a different meaning for zulm when referring to a true believer:
“[…] idolaters and disbelievers and rebellious oppressors will be cast into hell, and it is stated in this verse that the righteous are also not devoid of the touch of that fire. The implication of this statement is that the righteous, in this world, which is an abode of trial, plunge their bodies with great courage into various kinds of afflictions, and sacrifice their lives for God’s sake as if throwing themselves into a blazing fire. And various divine destinies and decrees descend upon them in the form of a fire.”(‘A’ina-e Kamalat-e Islam, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 5, p. 144)
Fanāʾ in The Conference of the Birds and the Promised Messiahas
In ‘Attar’srh poem, the journey across the Seven Valleys serves as a metaphorical exploration of the stages of spiritual development, each valley representing a different facet of the seeker’s path towards enlightenment. As the birds progress through these valleys, they face trials that test their commitment to selflessness and spiritual growth. The concept of fana’ becomes more pronounced as the birds gradually shed their individual identities and selves, ultimately culminating in the realisation of the divine oneness in the Valley of Unity. The journey through the Seven Valleys is a process of continual annihilation and rebirth, a spiritual metamorphosis that mirrors the Sufi teachings on the path to self-realisation.
The Promised Messiahas enjoins his Community to also partake in this very death – he states:
“When a person, conforming with the purpose of this verse, submits the whole of his being and his faculties to God Almighty, and dedicates himself to His cause, and wholly refrains from all personal moves and rests, then undoubtedly he experiences a type of death. The Sufis designate such death as fana’.” (‘A’ina-e Kamalat-e Islam, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 5, p. 63)
It is for this very fana’ that Islamic mystics of the past found comfort in their sorrows. They believed that once the self had been annihilated, all pain inflicted on them thereafter was in the path of Allah.
This is confirmed by a tradition of the Prophetsa from Sahih Muslim that this world is like a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever. (Sahih Muslim, Kitab az-Zuhd, Hadith 2956)
In fact, Sufis would fear those days in which pain is not inflicted on them. The Promised Messiahas mentioned this to his Companions too, as is recorded in Malfuzat that Rabi‘a Basri would be restless in those days when she would not be inflicted with some kind of difficulty. (Malfuzat [2022] Urdu, Vol. 6, p. 140)
There is nothing pessimistic about this view of life; it is far from the nihilistic approach of Western philosophers such as Nietzsche and Schopenhauer; rather, for Sufis, the idea of pain and conflict are just another means to adopt the path of suluk, by remembering and praising their Lord.
The Promised Messiah’sas couplet serves as the ultimate concatenation on this topic, which is:
اسلام چيز کيا ہے خدا کيلئے فنا
ترکِ رضائے خويش پئے مرضئ خدا
What is Islam but to lose one’s self for the sake of God
And to surrender one’s own pleasure for His (Nusrat-ul-Haqq, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 21, p. 18)